The present invention relates to processes and apparatus for decorating a surface and more particularly to a computer aided design and manufacturing system for decorating glass using apparatus to extrude compositions which adhere to and decorate a surface.
Decorative stained glass and came glass pieces have been made by artisans for many hundreds or even thousands of years. In doing so, the artisans' work is laborious and time-consuming. Accordingly, over the years there have been developed methods for creating faux stained glass and came glass without actually cutting and soldering the glass pieces (lites or gems) together. Such approaches include the use of lead or other material in tape form having adhesive for placement upon glass plate. Alternatively, extrudable liquids or paste-like substances have been utilized for creating false lead lines, which material is often referred to as liquid lead or liquid pewter or the like. Methods using the liquid metals approach are often referred to as trace and flow methods. Other "liquid" metals besides lead or pewter are also desirable, such as fake gold or bronze, for use in decorative stained glass or came glass windows.
Once lead lines are established with a bead of flowable liquid metal or metal-like material to create patterns on glass, glass stains, varnishes or lacquers are applied to simulate a stained glass appearance. While the trace and flow method for making decorative glass objects is much less time-consuming than assembling and soldering together came and glass or camed stained glass, the trace and flow method is still a labor intensive approach which does not lend itself well to the mass production of decorative objects. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide processes and apparatus which minimize the manual labor required for producing decorative objects through means of extruding liquids and other materials. It would be further desirable to provide computerized apparatus for graphic arts material extrusion using a computer driven x-y plotter to apply a bead lead line to a surface to be decorated and subsequently apply lacquers or stains onto outlines defined thereon. Such a computer aided design apparatus or computer aided robotic graphic arts material extrusion device would significantly automate the process of making false stained or camed glass. Further, such methods and apparatus may also be desirable for the manufacture or assembly of real stained glass or camed glass.